Cheaper, worse
by chihana
Summary: Prompt: someone breaks in Jason's house and he's forced to serve them tea with his fancy tea set.


This was prompted by redundantthinking on tumblr. First attempt at writing proper angst, sorry if it sucks.

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The tea set was on sale because it was incomplete, and it was kind of ugly. A cheap imitation of an antique. Jason bought it all the same. It was the same shade of blue that the one in the Manor. The one where Alfred would give him tea after a bad night. Maybe it wasn't the same shade, actually. Jason's memories of that time were fuzzy, though. But it was close enough.

After buying it, Jason would only bring it out on bad days. Seeing Bruce on patrol, meeting with anyone from his so called "family", seeing news about the Joker's latest escape from Arkham. It would help him calm down. Make him remember the warmth and safety of the Manor's kitchen.

It has been one of those nights. There had been a big escape from Arkham, and usually Jason would be out hunting those rats down. But it was also The Day. There was not a lot he was able to do on that Day, except trying to stay awake to avoid the nightmares. It wasn't easy, but watching the rain while sipping on tea had put him in some kind of daze. It was warm inside the apartment, and it would be nice to spend the night like that.

That peace was broken, though, when someone knocked on the door. Jason never expected visits, but someone was there and wanted to see him. Maybe they noticed the date, who could say. Dick would probably drop by if he remembered, but he was terrible with dates. There was a bigger chance of the person on the other side of the door being Alfred. Jason would appreciate his company.

What Jason didn't expect was to find the current Robin standing on his doorstep.

Damian glared at him and let himself in before Jason could react. "What is wrong with your face, Todd? I thought it was impossible to look worse than you usually do, but your surprised expression exceeds all my expectations."

"The hell are you doing here, Demon?!" Jason snarled at Damian as he passed him by, dripping rain water over the floor and banged the door shut.

"This is not a social visit, Todd. My comm device is broken and I bet that you would you have some on our frequency." Damian looked around the tiny apartment, his nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Oh for fuck's- if I get you one you'll leave, right?" Jason ran a hand through his hair.

"As if I want to stay in this hole in the wall any more than I have to."

Jason felt anger boiling inside him but he forced himself to calm down. He could start a fight -he really wanted to- but he wasn't in fighting form right at that moment. Not even in his fighting gear. The best possible outcome would be getting Damian to leave as soon as he could.

With a sigh, he left Damian in the living room and went to check his supplies. He found a comm link and walked back to the living room. Jason tossed it at Damian, not caring if he caught it or not, "There, happy? Now scram." But instead of leaving as promised, Damian stood up looking at the table.

"Todd. I want a cup of tea." Damian said.

"Fuck off, kiddo. I gave you your stupid comm. Now get lost." Jason pointed at the door.

Damian looked at his gesture, unimpressed. "You made more than enough tea for yourself, and it is cold outside. The general rules of hospitality dictate that you should offer me some."

"No chance in hell. Go home with Daddy and leave me the fuck alone."

Instead of obeying him, Damian turned around and sat down in front of the table, taking Jason's spot. Cursing, Jason walked up to him. Damian picked at empty cup and waited.

"You're definitely leaving after this." Jason stated warily, pulling up a chair for himself before eyeing Damian.

"Very well."

Jason sat down and hastily poured the tea; most of it actually splashing out of the cup. Damian made a displeased expression that lifted Jason's mood a bit. They both sat in silence for a moment, with Damian sipping at the tea quietly. Under the dim light coming from the window, Jason noticed the small puddle of water forming under Damian's feet, and felt sorry for him for a moment. Just a moment, though.

"This tea is awful, Todd, one would think that after living in the Manor you would have acquired at least a bit of taste, but it seems that it did not work. Even the tea set is awful. Alfred would be ashamed to put it out any-"

"That's it, kid, you are out!" Jason grabbed Damian by the back of the neck and pushed him towards the door. Damian was too surprised to resist, and before he reacted Jason slammed the door shut on his face.

The tea set was in the dumpster the next morning.


End file.
